Bogdan Bezpalko: Armenian-Russian relations could worsen

Russian political expert Bogdan Bezpalko commented to Alpha News on what to expect from Armenian-Russian relations.

“If the current trend in relations between Russia and Armenia continues, it is probably natural to expect Armenia to leave the CSTO, the EAEU and, accordingly, a deterioration in relations between Russia and Armenia.

But in that case Armenia will, most likely, lose another part of its territories, with the ‘Zangezur Corridor’ between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan being opened. It may further lead to a Caucasian war, in which Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Iran and Russia will be involved.

But for now, I hope that everything will be limited to demonstrative, offensive steps for Russia, such as the visit of Nikol Pashinyan’s wife to Kyiv or joint Armenia-US exercises, that is, we will not have an official withdrawal from the CSTO or the EAEU at least in the near future,” he said.

Speaking about the further presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region, the political scientist noted that perhaps their mandate would end, since Stepanakert became a ghost town.

“It is possible that the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers will end and they, accordingly, will leave this territory, making sure that there is no Genocide or severe discrimination against the Armenian population, or that the Armenian population has finally left the region. But it is almost obvious that Stepanakert has turned into a ghost town. Perhaps, the peacekeepers will stay, say, to avoid conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia along the border or in these adjacent areas. But as far as I understand, most likely, they will be withdrawn after some time, because the Karabakh problem is over. It was resolved, but not in favor of Armenia,” Bezpalko concluded.